The Kings spent the past five seasons getting bounced in the first round, but not all of those exits looked the same. Some teams were flawed from the start.
One looked built to go on a real run and still let it slip away. That’s what makes this five-year ranking so clear: the 2025 Kings stood above the rest, while the 2026 group landed at the bottom.
At the very top sits the 2025 team, the one that felt like the most complete Kings roster in this stretch. Los Angeles was elite defensively, giving up 2.48 goals per game, the second-fewest in the league. Darcy Kuemper backed that up with a .922 save percentage, third best among all goaltenders, and he allowed 2.02 goals per game, the second-fewest.
That team also opened its first-round series against the Oilers with a 2-0 lead, which made the collapse sting even more. Game 3 turned on a controversial goalie-interference challenge that failed, and Edmonton cashed in on the power play to swing the momentum. Then came Game 4, when Evan Bouchard scored in the final 30 seconds to force overtime and help the Oilers steal another one.
The Kings also got burned by how the series played out tactically. Edmonton pushed hard on the forecheck and controlled the offensive zone, while Los Angeles sat back too much on defense.
That opened the door for the Oilers’ speed and offense to generate more shots. Edmonton eventually won the series in six games and then went on to the Stanley Cup Finals after beating Los Angeles.
The Kings actually pushed the Oilers harder than both the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, who each lost in five games, which is why this one still feels like the missed opportunity of the bunch.
Number Two is the 2022 team, the group that finally got the Kings back to the playoffs after missing out since 2018. That roster had a top-10 defense, allowing 2.79 goals per game, and it came the closest of any of these five teams to reaching the second round. Los Angeles led Edmonton 3-2 in the series and was one win away.
But the Oilers came back to win Games 6 and 7, and the Kings never recovered. Even with solid team defense, too many holes were exposed. Save percentage, goaltending, power play, and penalty kill all sat outside the top 15, and those weaknesses were too much to overcome.
At Number Three is 2023, the outlier of the group. This was the season that looked different because the Kings’ offense actually took off. After adding Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles averaged 3.34 goals per game, a top-10 mark and the highest scoring average the Kings posted in the 2020s.
The tradeoff was on the other end. The goaltending slipped into the bottom five with a .892 save percentage, and the defense was only average at best.
The Kings allowed 3.10 goals per game, which left them outside the top 15 in goals against. Against an Oilers team that had the league’s best offense, that imbalance was too much.
Edmonton beat Los Angeles in six games again.
Number Four goes to 2024, a season where the Kings were better on special teams than the year that followed, but still couldn’t match up with Edmonton’s firepower. Los Angeles had an 84.6% penalty kill, second best in the league, and a 22.6 power play, 11th best in the NHL. That was enough to make the roster look respectable on special teams, but not enough to survive a first-round matchup with Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who both finished with more than 105 points.
Edmonton also got strong production from Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman, both of whom topped 75 points. In fact, the Oilers had four players who outscored the Kings’ highest point producer. That gap showed up in the series, and Edmonton handled Los Angeles in five games.
Bringing up the rear is 2026, the weakest of the five. The offense never really got going, as Los Angeles scored 2.68 goals per game, fourth worst in the league.
But even that wasn’t the biggest issue. The special teams were worse.
The Kings’ power play finished at 17%, fifth worst in the league, and the penalty kill sat at 74.6%, third worst.
That combination was a disaster waiting to happen, especially against the Presidents Cup winner Colorado Avalanche in the first round. The Avalanche made quick work of the Kings and swept them in four games. Given how much of the season already revolved around whether Los Angeles would even make the playoffs, it wasn’t a surprise that the Kings couldn’t win a game once they got there.
In Other News...
Kings New Jersey Numbers Are Already Fueling Camp Debate
The Kings early camp chatter has already moved beyond line combinations and into something as basic as jersey numbers, with the club laying out what several players will wear when the new season gets going. Scott Laughton will take 21, Mats Zuccarello 36, Erik Haula 56, Corey Perry 90 and Erik Gustafsson 64, while other names across the roster and depth chart have been assigned or are expected to settle into their own numbers as camp approaches.
Scott Perunovichs choice of 7 is the one that stands out most in that group, because it can be read as a small but telling sign of where he sits in the competition for a job. The rest of the list has a similar feel, with Lane Pederson, Jan Jenik, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright and Francesco Pinelli all tied to specific numbers as they try to turn September into something more permanent, and the number assignments themselves are already giving the first hints of how the Kings are sorting through the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Offseason Is Already Getting Questioned With Bobrovsky Front And Center
The Maple Leafs offseason is drawing praise in a few places, but the goaltending and coaching choices are already inviting second-guessing. After adding pieces such as Gavin McKenna, Nick Paul and Darren Raddysh, Toronto still managed to put Sergei Bobrovsky front and center in the conversation, and the fit is being scrutinized because his recent performance metrics have trended the wrong way.
Jim Hillers arrival behind the bench is getting the same treatment, especially from anyone who watched his time with the Kings. His stint in Los Angeles ended with more questions than answers, and the criticism now circling Toronto is that the Leafs may have traded one set of concerns for another by betting on a coach whose previous stop left plenty unresolved. [Read more 🡒]